It took Sharon nearly 10 minutes to get herself together enough to make the necessary calls. The first call she made was to Emily. Her beautiful and talented daughter was trying to keep contact with her father, despite the deep feeling of abandonment Sharon knew Emily felt towards him. It appeared that out of the two children she shared with Jack, Emily was the closest to him. She knew that if Jack didn't make it Emily would never forgive her for not giving her the chance to say goodbye to her father, or at least try to get home in time to do so.

Emily burst into tears as soon as she heard of her father's condition, and she tried to make Sharon promise that if things came to that, she won't make the decision to pull the plug on her father before she managed to get there and bid him farewell.

The next call was to Ricky. Her son's reaction was much less emotional than Emily's. He promised to be there as soon as he could, but kept his emotions in check.

The third call was to Jack's brother, Bradley. Jack and Bradley were twins, but the two of them were not on speaking terms since Jack borrowed a large sum of money from Brad and failed to return it. Sharon has not seen or spoken to Brad in over 15 years, and to the best of her knowledge, neither did Jack, so it didn't surprise her that he wasn't willing to come and see his brother, even if this might be his last time.

The next call was the hardest. She called Andy and told him of the situation. She explained that the chances she would be able to make it to Abigail's funeral were slim. She did not expect to see Andy and Rusty walking into the waiting room at the ICU 40 minutes later, carrying coffee and muffins for her.

"Andy, you shouldn't be here. You should be packing for the funeral," she said as he wrapped his arms around her. Despite looking pale and tired, his strong arms around her gave her a sense of security.

"The JFK airport closed down because of the storm. I managed to get a flight to Chicago the day after tomorrow and I'll have to drive the rest of the way. I called my brother-in-law. He will postpone the funeral to Sunday," Andy said. Sharon's phone rang and she stepped out of Andy's arms and picked it up.

"Mom!" she heard Emily's panic in her voice immediately. "The airport is closed!"

"I know, sweetie. Find out which airports are open and take a bus or a train there instead," Sharon instructed her.

"How is dad doing?"

"He's stable, but he's still heavily sedated. The doctor doesn't think he suffered any brain damage, so that's good," she said. At this stage she didn't dare to tell Emily that Jack's heart stopped twice during the emergency surgery. Nor did she tell her that Jack's liver endured severe damage due to his drinking habits and the injuries from the accident made it worse. If Jack ever made it out of this, he would be looking at a very long and agonizing recovery. Sharon had no idea how he would ever be able to go through the rehabilitation if he survived. Even if she helped him and was there for him every step of the way, Jack was likely to start drinking again, which would worsen his condition and interfere with his recovery process.

"Mom, if I don't make it there in time, please tell dad I love him," Emily said.

"Of course I will, honey," Sharon promised. As she hung up the call with Emily, she noticed several text messages from Ricky informing her of his flight number and asked if she could get someone to pick him up from the airport. She volunteered Rusty for the mission. "Did you call Provenza?" she then turned to Andy.

"I did," Andy sighed. "He feels sorry for me, but his granddaughters are visiting, so he can't help much." Andy sighed deeply and Sharon looked at him. She could tell by the paleness of his skin, and the broken expression on his face that he was barely holding it together. If she had to guess, she'd say he was trying to be strong for her, to make it easier for her to deal with Jack's condition. She admired him for trying, but she knew he had to process his own grief and running away from his own issues would not benefit him.

"Did you call your sponsor?" she asked.

"Not yet. I may attend a meeting later today, though," Andy said.

"Good," Sharon said.

"Are you Sharon Raydor?" a nurse approached her. She nodded quickly. "You will be able to see your husband now." Sharon was about to correct the nurse, but then decided against it. Her relationship with Jack seemed irrelevant at this point and she followed the nurse into the room, leaving Andy and Rusty behind in the waiting room.

The beeping in the room was almost deafening. Jack was connected to multiple tubes and devices. His face was severely bruised and despite being sedated, he had a pained expression on his face. It was clear to see that he was suffering.

"He looks like he's in a lot of pain," she indicated to the nurse.

"He's getting sedatives, but his medical file indicated that he cannot receive narcotic drugs, so it's possible that he's feeling a slight discomfort," the nurse explained.

"If his condition takes a turn to the worse, will he be getting heavier sedation?" Sharon inquired.

"That is up to the doctor."

"I see," Sharon said. "I'd like to speak to the doctor, then, just so I can make informed decisions if it gets to that."

"He'll be here later, and you'll be able to talk to him and ask him questions," the nurse informed her. Sharon nodded slowly.

"Will it help if I talk to him?" she wondered.

"He's not in a coma, but it can't hurt, I guess," the nurse said. "If you need anything, press the red button," she said and pointed at the remote that was connected to Jack's bed. Sharon gave her a quick nod and the nurse left the room. Sharon looked at Jack for a long moment. His face twitched in pain and she felt tears rising in her eyes. She didn't love him anymore, but he was her first love and despite all his shortcomings, he was still the father of her children. She took his hand and squeezed it gently.

"Jack, you have to come out of this," she said softly. Despite all the horrible things he put her through, she couldn't help but feel for him at this moment. He didn't deserve this pain and suffering. Knowing that she had the power to put an end to his suffering didn't do much to cheer her up. If anything, it made her feel even worse. Jack had discussed the issue of life support with her about a decade earlier, when he brought up the subject of giving her power of attorney for health issues. He didn't want this for himself. "If there's nothing to save, then I'd like to go fast," he said. She promised she'd honor his wishes if she ever had to. Now, as she began to consider the worst case scenario of the current situation, she realized that the kids may not get to bid farewell to their father. If his condition worsened and the kids still needed time, maybe keeping Jack on life support could at least give them that chance. Once the idea came up in her mind, she knew that this was the first medical decision she's made for Jack in this condition. It stood against everything he asked her to do, and she knew that if Jack's condition got to that point, she'd feel horrible about her decision to prolong his suffering, and she could only hope that the notion that she did everything she could to allow her children to say goodbye to their father will be able to comfort her.

TBC

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